Every year, more than half a billion people meander through botanical gardens, unaware they are performing an act that may one day be prescribed by doctors.
A team of researchers publishing their findings in Biological Diversity argues that botanical gardens aren’t just decorative displays of plants. They are essential infrastructure for public health, climate resistance, biodiversity, and maintaining sanity. They are so important, the researchers argue, that more doctors should be prescribing them to patients as a way to treat a variety of conditions.
Researchers from institutions in China and Australia say doctors should start writing “green prescriptions,” where they send patients to gardens as part of treatment for depression, post-traumatic stress, and chronic illness. It sounds absolutely absurd, maybe even stupid. But there is logic and some science behind it: exposure to biodiverse environments has measurable effects on stress, mood, and attention. A garden rich with plants does a lot more psychological work than you’d think, and it certainly does a lot more than a mowed lawn in any yard or run-of-the-mill public park.
Botanical Gardens Are a Safe Space in More Ways Than One
Around the world, botanical gardens are home to around 30 percent of known plant species, collectively acting as backup ecosystems as the external natural ecosystems degrade thanks to human-generated pollution and climate change. At the same time, they exist as research hubs where a variety of scientists test plans for a variety of reasons, including agriculture, medicine, and climate adaptation.
We cannot only use some of these plants in medicines, but the visual splendor of these plants gathered collectively into a botanical garden provides us with a kind of social medicine as well. They give us a place to congregate, they give us something to tend, and provide us with a bit of agency in a world that increasingly feels like were losing our collective grip on.
The problem is, of course, access. Botanical gardens can’t function as a public health tool if they are financially out of reach, which many tend to be. The authors argue that botanical Gardens should be more inclusive in their design, with communities providing input into what gets planted and how these spaces are used. The idea is to turn these gardens into places of belonging where everyone feels like they are active participants rather than passive observers.
The best part is that so many major cities across the United States and the world have some version of a botanical garden. Now just about finding new ways to bring more people into them and to feel a sense of ownership over them.
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